With just under 11 minutes to play, Harvard coach Kathy Delaney-Smith re-inserted Feaster and Reinhard into the line-up, and the substitutions paid instant dividends. Feaster sank a pair of freebies and Reinhard knocked down a trey from the right corner, pushing the Crimson advantage back to double digits, 58-45, with 7:48 remaining.
Harvard cruised the rest of way, pushing the lead as high as 19 at one point, en route to the 73-62 title-clinching victory.
Still, the Crimson players and coaches were somewhat disappointed; Harvard shot only 38.2 percent from the floor and was out-rebounded by a taller, though far less athletic team.
"Our shot selection was poor and we weren't running our offenses," Delaney-Smith said. "I felt we were so tight and scared [mid-way through the first half] that they were beating us to rebounds and loose balls."
"It's kind of anti-climactic," Reinhard said. "We're so dominant in the league, I just hope we don't get complacent."
Indeed, the victory little resembled most championship celebrations; although some players removed their jerseys and began waving them over their heads, the Brown nets remained intact.
"We made that decision earlier in the week," Proudfit said. "We have to win the rest of our games.... [Then] we're gonna destroy Dartmouth's nets."
Nets or no nets, one thing is certain: the Harvard women's basketball team now owns the Ivy championship and, for the first time ever, is headed for the NCAA tournament.